The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for allowing rapid assembly and disassembly of photographic equipment.
Photographic assemblies may range from a camera mounted on a monopod to highly complex assemblies. FIG. 1, for example, illustrates a photographic assembly of a type often used in macro photography. A camera 10 includes a telephoto lens 12 that is mounted to a tripod head 14 using a lens collar 16. This arrangement is commonly used when telephoto lens 12 that is sufficiently heavy that the camera 10 to which it is attached would not balance properly on a tripod were the camera 10 attached directly to the tripod head 14.
It is often desired to use a flash 20 aligned vertically above the telephoto lens 12, rather than being mounted atop the shoe 22 of the camera 10. This configuration may be desirable for several reasons. First, if the camera 10 is taking a macro image of an object very close to the telephoto lens 12, the telephoto lens 12 may interfere with the illumination of a flash 20 mounted to the shoe 22 of the camera 10. Second, some lens collars 16 allow for rotation of the camera 10 between a landscape and portrait orientation, and it may be undesirable to rotate the flash 20 with the camera 10. In this regard, the lens collar 16 may be mounted on an elongate rail 18 along with a flash bracket 24 that supports an off-camera shoe adapter 26, to which the flash 20 is detachably mounted. The off-camera shoe adapter 26 includes a socket 28 that receives a cord 30 from a remote unit 32 mounted to the shoe 22 of the camera 10. This arrangement permits the camera 10 and telephoto lens 12 to be rotated within the collar 16 without any corresponding rotation of the flash 20.
Other photographic assemblies exist that are at least as complex as the exemplary assembly shown in FIG. 1. For example, when taking a series of images to be later stitched together in a multi-layer panoramic, a camera is preferably mounted to a tripod by a series of rails and rotating clamps such that the nodal point of the lens may be aligned directly above a vertical axis of rotation centered on the tripod head, while the nodal point can also be rotated about a horizontal axis so that the lens can both pan in an up-down direction and rotate parallel to the ground. This arrangement reduces parallax between successive images which assists in seamless stitching of the captured images.
Constructing these assemblies can consume quite a bit of time, which in some instances is scarce due to transient lighting conditions or fleeting subject matter such as wildlife. Therefore, it is beneficial to reduce the time it takes to assemble multiple pieces of photographic equipment to each other when used to capture a particular image.
Many quick-release clamps exist by which, for example, a camera may be mounted to a tripod. Typically a quick-release clamp requires that the camera or other piece of photographic equipment have an attached dovetail mount that may be inserted into a channel of the quick release clamp. The channel may selectively, alternately, clamp and release an inserted dovetail mount by turning a knob, moving a lever, etc. Unfortunately, there are often circumstances where assembly between two pieces of photographic equipment using these quick-release clamps is too slow, particularly when multiple pieces of photographic equipment need to be connected in an intricate assembly.
What is desired, therefore, is a system for alternately searching and releasing one piece of photographic equipment to and from another, respectively, in an efficient manner.